Gary Hart - Breaking the Final Rule

[pberq]

I apologize if this has been posted before, but it bears repeating.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/breaking-the-final-rule_b_90420.html

Breaking the Final Rule

Posted March 7, 2008 | 12:45 PM (EST)


It will come as a surprise to many people that there are rules in politics. Most of those rules are unwritten and are based on common understandings, acceptable practices, and the best interest of the political party a candidate seeks to lead. One of those rules is this: Do not provide ammunition to the opposition party that can be used to destroy your party's nominee. This is a hyper-truth where the presidential contest is concerned.


By saying that only she and John McCain are qualified to lead the country, particularly in times of crisis, Hillary Clinton has broken that rule, severely damaged the Democratic candidate who may well be the party's nominee, and, perhaps most ominously, revealed the unlimited lengths to which she will go to achieve power. She has essentially said that the Democratic party deserves to lose unless it nominates her.

As a veteran of red telephone ads and "where's the beef" cleverness, I am keenly aware that sharp elbows get thrown by those trailing in the fourth quarter (and sometimes even earlier). "Politics ain't beanbag," is the old slogan. But that does not mean that it must also be rule-or-ruin, me-first-and-only-me, my way or the highway. That is not politics. That is raw, unrestrained ambition for power that cannot accept the will of the voters.

Senator Obama is right to say the issue is judgment not years in Washington. If Mrs. Clinton loses the nomination, her failure will be traced to the date she voted to empower George W. Bush to invade Iraq. That is not the kind of judgment, or wisdom, required by the leader answering the phone in the night. For her now to claim that Senator Obama is not qualified to answer the crisis phone is the height of irony if not chutzpah, and calls into question whether her primary loyalty is to the Democratic party and the nation or to her own ambition.

[AX10]

1. Hart is just as smarmy as Obama

Never will I support either of them.

[Benhurst]

2. I think you just lost your chance for a cruise on the Monkey Business.

:rofl:

[movonne]

7. Do you people ever stop??? you list of disliking dems that say

they endorse or like a certain candidate is becoming crazy...KO, Hart,kennedy's, etc..these are good dems and I know most of you liked then before this primary season...

[Pathwalker]

3. Seen Donna Rice lately, Gary?

n/t

[snooper2]

4. I see...

You can say names like "Donna", but not "Monica"


Ah, get it now...thanks for clearing that up....

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. I see Clinton supporters raising the specter of marital infidelity.

And it keeps getting funnier every time I see it.

[movonne]

8. I think at this point people here are going crazy...and to ridicule someone

that has had an affair...when their candidate has more baggage on this subject...

[Pathwalker]

9. Did they DARE the press to catch them? When caught...

red..handed, did they sit on their ass with THEIR piece of Monkey Business on their laps and POSE FOR PHOTOS? No, only Gary Hart ever had the "brilliance" to do that, thereby costing himself the Democratic nomination for President.
If that's the type of judgment you respect, then by all means, go for it. Don't let me stop you.
There's having an affair, and then there's daring the press to catch you at it, then when caught - posing for pictures w2ith your lover while GRINNING!

[Hart2008]

12. A 20 year old MSM smear. The real question was why wasn't Bush, Sr., asked the same questions...

when Nancy Reagan herself was dishing the dirt on him?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Fitzgerald

You also have your facts wrong.

For 20 years, Donna Rice has denied that her relationship with Hart was sexual, nor has she made any money for herself from the stolen photograph and the notoriety that went with it. That isn't why he suspended his campaign.

Ben Bradlee and the WaPo forced Hart out based upon an alleged PI's report from December 2006. Hart was followed after giving the party's response to Reagan's weekly radio address before he announced his candidacy. The Miami Herald was staking out Hart's rented D.C. townhouse before the quote to which you refer was printed, nor did they know of it. Furthermore, it appears that Dionne's quote pertained to rumors that Hart frequented prostitutes, not that he claimed he had a perfect marriage.

See related discussion:


http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4949036

They couldn't beat Hart fairly, so they had to change the rules, but only for Hart, not Bush.

Hart should be judged on his entire political career.

Not one photo or one weekend.

He and his wife have now been married for over 50 years. That should be enough for reasonable people.

He is the man who predicted the terrorist attacks of 9-11, and that speaks volumes about his judgment.

[Pathwalker]

13. Riiight. They have had different rules for Democrats

for many years now. That's not new. What is new is posters claiming Bill Clinton INVENTED the sex scandal, which is utter BS. Personally, I think MOST sex scandals are private matters, but Gary Hart should not have dared the press - he shouldn't have done that. That was stupid. And I won't praise his judgment now, either.
As far as Poppy Bush goes; my family refused to take the White House tour when we visited D.C. in early 1992, for fear I would "accidentally blurt out" something very derogatory about his loooong affair with his Chief of Protocol. But then, I've already been told in this thread that after a lifetime of being a registered Democrat, and voting Democratic in every election since 1968 that I'm not a "REAL Democrat".
Just one more insult to add to my rather large collection. I've also been accused of stating that I won't vote for the nominee - a flat out LIE, because I've NEVER said that - not once. Yet, facts don't matter to anyone here - not anymore.

PS: Does anyone have a perfect marriage?

[Hart2008]

15. I think you need to put that quote in its proper context.

What exactly did Dionne ask Hart to provoke that response?

Twenty years later, we still don't know.

Until the quote is read in the context of what question was asked, it can't be judged fairly.

[Hart2008]

14. Donna Rice Hughes, President of "Enough Is Enough", an organization protecting kids frm online porn

Like Hart, Donna Rice has a passion for public service:

Enough Is Enough (EIE) is dedicated to protecting children and families from the Internet dangers of pornography and sexual predators so that they can enjoy the enormous benefits that the Internet offers.

The Internet pornography industry is a 12 billion dollar industry. Furthermore, child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise and is one of the fastest growing industries on the Internet. And 90% of youth receiving sexual solicitations are teenagers ages 13-17.

http://www.enough.org/

Donna Rice, Don Henley's of The Eagles former girlfriend, always was a class act.

[Pathwalker]

16. I like how she handled it so much better than other women

have handled notoriety they never sought. She used it to do something very good. Class act is right. I remember her testifying once on Capitol Hill about her work once a long time ago, and was very impressed. God, I hate D.C. (not the residents, though).

[FSogol]

5. Whatever his personal failings, Gary Hart was a great democrat.

To bash him because he has not come out on the side of your preferred candidate is disgusting. His points are valid.

And to the clown who claims that he won't support the Democratic candidate in this election, why not leave now? Why wait until a candidate is selected and you are kicked off?

[pberq]

11. Same for HRC

She is saying she will support the Republican over the Democrat if Obama is the nominee.

And there are so-called Democrats who still support her?????

[truedelphi]

17. At this point in time, they probably need several material facts a day

Spun 180 degrees, or they can't keep their adrenaline up.

[snappyturtle]

10. K&R You cannot repeat Hart's message enough. imho n/t